


Ultramarine

by supernovainparadise



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: A story for another time..., Artist Spencer Reid, Bisexual Aaron Hotchner, Bisexual Spencer Reid, David Rossi knows but literally no one else does, Fluff, Idiots in Love, Love Confessions, M/M, POV Aaron Hotchner, Painting, this is very very soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:55:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27362341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supernovainparadise/pseuds/supernovainparadise
Summary: A case in Las Vegas leads Spencer to drag Aaron off to what may be his favorite place on earth, where Hotch learns more about the young doctor than he ever thought he would.
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner/Spencer Reid
Comments: 3
Kudos: 158





	Ultramarine

_ “Art is the window to man’s soul. Without it, he would never be able to see beyond his immediate world; nor could he see the man within.” - Lady Bird Johnson _

Spencer Reid shows up approximately five minutes late to work, and the moment he steps through the glass doors to the bullpen of the BAU, the reason why is all over him. On the back on his hands, a smear across his cheek, even some in his tousled hair… In fact, the only parts of him that are clean of paint are his clothes, which are ruffled, as though he didn’t have time to straighten them out.

Hotch has to physically stop himself from staring at his youngest agent. He’s always found him somewhat attractive; it’s difficult not to. High cheekbones, bright green eyes, tousled curls, broad shoulders, tall and surprisingly graceful… It’s no surprise that women and men alike tended to gravitate towards him. Of course, it wasn’t unusual for them to turn away after Spencer opened his mouth only to stutter out statistics or go on a tangent about an obscure piece of literature. But for Aaron? It wasn’t a turn-off in the slightest. He felt that he was one of the few people who actually enjoyed listening to Reid talk, who enjoyed the subject.

But there was something about the fact that Spencer had interests outside of just academics. Outside of his books and numbers. Something about the addition of this tiny piece of him, of this insight into Reid’s life that Aaron hadn’t seen before, made Spencer all that more attractive.

“Didn’t know you painted, pretty boy!” Derrek says, looking up from his computer with a grin.

Spencer flushes but doesn’t shy away. “Painting is a great form of therapy. It’s used to relieve a variety of mental illnesses, including anxiety, depression, and PTSD. I find it’s a great way to pull my mind away from my job.”

“Yes, well, it certainly succeeded today,” Emily says with a soft laugh, and Spencer rubs the back of his head sheepishly.

“I thought I had more time, but I just got lost in the moment. I barely managed to get clean clothes on; didn’t manage the shower,” Spencer admits as he drops his messenger bag next to his desk.

“Well you’ll have to suffer till tonight I’m afraid,” JJ says, stepping into the bullpen with a grim expression. “I’ve got quite the case for us today.”

Aaron tugs himself out of the images playing in his head and leaves his office for the round table. The case isn’t so much violent as it is just… sad. Violence is one thing, but cases like these always hit harder. Their unsub seems to be an angel of death, going after an unfortunately specific group of people; victims of violent crime. They’re working their violence in Alaska, a place the team rarely visits.

“Angels of death are typically health care workers…” Reid mutters, absentmindedly picking dried paint off his hands. “Could be he or she took care of these people in the aftermath of their trauma?”

Rossi frowns and leans a little closer to the picture. “Morphine overdose… Definitely points towards someone who’d work in a hospital.”

Aaron sighs and stands. “We’ll work on victimology on the plane. Wheels up in thirty; we have a long flight ahead of us.”

The case takes them back to Spencer’s hometown; Las Vegas. With Spencer’s intimate knowledge of the city, and the BAU’s talents the case is wrapped up quickly. Reid’s initial profile turns out to be right and the geographical profile narrows down the hospital. Within two days they’ve arrested the nurse responsible, and she quickly breaks down into a confession. The quick wrapup leaves them the rest of the week before they’re supposed to be back. 

Reid takes the time to visit his mother, but the trip is marred by the last case in Vegas where Spencer tried to get his father arrested. It’s short, and Spencer leaves with a sick feeling in the back of his throat and a familiar urge to flee. When he gets back to the hotel, he tosses together a go-bag of casual clothes. He reaches up, pulls the door open, and is about to step out, almost walking into Hotch, who stands there startled with his hand raised to knock.

Hotch glances at him, taking in his disheveled appearance and the bag tossed over his shoulder. “Bad time?” Aaron asks, and Spencer sighs, running a hand through his hair.

Spencer glances over Aaron’s shoulder, looking down the hall to make sure there’s nobody who’ll overhear them when he turns back to Aaron with a soft smile. “For you? Never.”

Aaron laughs softly, taking a small step closer to him. “Have you flirted with all your bosses like this?”

Spencer grins, and the tension melts from his shoulders. “Only the  _ really  _ handsome ones.”

Aaron smiles back, and though it’s muted, it’s the most genuine smile he’s given all week. “So, if your really handsome boss were to ask where you’re going, is there a chance you might tell him?”

Spencer chuckles, a delicate and slightly raspy sound that has Hotch’s heart doing cartwheels. “How about I show him, instead? Change into something comfortable and let’s go. It’s a bit of a drive.”

Aaron doesn’t question him, merely drops by his hotel room and changes into a comfortable t-shirt and jeans, packing his go-bag with some similar pieces of clothes, and stopping briefly to tell Dave that he and Spencer are going on a road trip and won’t be back for a bit.

Rossi doesn’t even look up from the TV, merely waves him off with “use protection. Don’t get eaten by a coyote.”

“How do those two even-- never mind. I’ll let you know when we’re heading back.” Hotch turns to walk out of the room, but before he can take a step out the door, Dave says “And Aaron?”

Aaron glances back, with a raised eyebrow, and this time Rossi looks up. “Have fun,” he says, and Hotch smiles before quietly shutting the door and making his way down the parking lot where Reid is waiting.

They don’t take one of the SUVs. Instead, they climb into a convertible that Reid had rented. They don’t speak much as they drive through the city, and it isn’t until they’ve left Las Vegas behind and the only thing ahead of them is desert that Aaron thinks to ask where they’re going.

Spencer gives him a secretive little smile and says, “someplace special.”

Aaron throws his hands up in defeat, but laughs loudly anyways, feeling lighter than he has in months. Spencer just has that strange effect on him; he’s always felt comfortable around the young doctor, but it wasn’t until they’d started this strange relationship, which maybe was about the sex at first but had long since changed into something far beyond base needs. From the sex had grown the desire to be physically close, to kiss and touch and snuggle on the couch. From that had grown the desire to be emotionally close, for Aaron to feel like he didn’t have to hide behind the facade of the Unit Chief, and for Spencer to let down the shield that is his intellect. And from that?

Something Aaron wasn’t sure he’d ever feel again. Something he doesn’t dare name, lest it vanishes away into the desert winds.

So they don’t talk about Something. Instead, they tell stories about their friends, about the good parts of their childhood (which, even between them, are few and far between) or interesting encounters they’ve had. Spencer tells Aaron about the time he tried to adopt an armadillo when he was five, and he and his father had to keep it hidden from his mother. Aaron talks about the time he convinced Sean to climb onto the roof with him and they both got stuck.

Time flies by, and as the sun begins to sink towards the horizon and the desert begins to cool, Spencer drives into a tiny little town, pulling up to a busy diner. Hotch raises an eyebrow and Spencer grins at him.

“Hungry?” the young agent asks, and Aaron shrugs, his lips pulled upwards once again.

“Now that you mention it…”

Spencer laughs and they step inside. The waitress looks up and grins, greeting Spencer by name before ushering them into a booth and taking their orders. Spencer gets pancakes and bacon, and Aaron orders a burger with fries. They share a chocolate shake and try to profile the other diners for a while before Aaron’s curiosity takes over after yet another passerby stops to say hello to Spencer, and more than one of them spots Aaron and grins, playfully shoving the young man’s shoulder or elbowing him in the ribs. Spencer blushes, but his eyes dance with light and he holds himself in a way he hasn’t in weeks.

“How do all these people know you?” Aaron asks, watching the waitress dart around the diner.

Spencer leans onto his hand and takes another long drink of the shake. “I used to come to this town a lot, during the summers when I was in college after my mother was institutionalized. I could have stayed in the city, but my scholarships included room-and-board, which ended with the school year, and the apartment was still in my name so I returned in the summer. I got so sick of being in that awful empty place, and every time I tried to visit my mother for several years after the incident she would shout at me. One day she slapped me and I… ran. Turned tale and drove out into the desert till I ended up here. This place became a kind of a second home.” Spencer stares absently out the window, a small smile on his face. “It was out here that I picked up painting.”

They finish their meal, then head back out to the car. “Are we heading back to the hotel?” Aaron asks, trying not to sound disappointed.

Spencer, the man being an excellent profiler, catches this immediately. “Not yet. There’s one last place I want to show you.”

The last place is a lot on the edge of town, overlooking the vast desert. On this lot sits a trailer, clearly updated and carefully worked on. It’s attached to a small porch, and Spencer parks nearby before leading him inside and flicking on the lights. It’s cozy inside, comfortable, and warm. An easel sits off to one side with a blank canvas sitting on it, waiting to be used. Aaron takes a minute to look around before his gaze rests yet again on Spencer Reid.

“There weren’t very many specialty stores in town,” Spencer says, picking up a tube of oil paint and examining the title. “But the art shop was one of them. I ended up there a lot, and over time I just started picking things up from the workers and customers.”

“And the trailer?”

“One of the older residents gave it to me, and then some friends from Cal-tech helped me fix it up. I’d return every summer up until I joined the BAU. I haven’t been able to visit in a long while. It was… nice, to know that they still remember me.” Spencer holds the tube up to the light, before passing it off to Hotch so he can read the color.  _ Ultramarine _ .

“Literally, it means ‘beyond the sea’. It was once one of the most expensive paints in the world; until 1804, it was made from the gemstone lapis lazuli,” Spencer explains, and Aaron hums quietly. 

He sets the paint down, and he and Spencer step outside to overlook the desert. The stars are incredibly clear out here, and Aaron can even see the milky way. Somewhere beyond, an owl hoots and cicadas hum. The wind blows across the rock and sand, and the air is pleasantly chilled. They sit on the top step of the porch, probably a little too close to one another than is acceptable for a boss and his subordinate, but Hotch doesn’t really care.

Spencer moves so that their shoulders are pressed together and rests his head on Aaron’s shoulder, staring quietly into the night sky as Aaron wraps an arm around his shoulder. The familiarity, the intimacy… It brings back the Something, and Aaron can’t keep it in anymore.

“I love you,” he whispers, heart hammering.

Spencer turns and smiles up at him, eyes bright with starlight. “I love you too.”

_ “Art and love are the same thing: it’s the process of seeing yourself in things that aren’t you.” -Chuck Klosterman _


End file.
